Five new sets of pensions SIs were published today, all to come into force next month. For the convenience of visitors to this site and to economise on space, we shall deal with them together in this report.

(1) The Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2005 (SI 2005/521) sets the rate at which GMPs should be increased from 6.4.05 at 3%, as expected from the draft order issued last month.

(2) The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (SI 2005/522), a draft of which was also reported here early last month, is the key annual SI which sets the rates for the new tax year of state pensions (including pension credit) and other social security benefits (eg Statutory Maternity Pay) governed by the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.

(3) The Contracting-out, Protected Rights and Safeguarded Rights (Transfer Payment) Amendment Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/555) concern transfers overseas; we reported a DWP consultation draft of these Regs at the end of last November. A summary of points made by commentators has been published, with the Government's responses. Very few changes from the original draft are apparent.

(4) The Stakeholder Pension Schemes (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/577) were the subject of a consultation draft issued at the beginning of last November and summarised here. These regs have been more extensively modified in response to criticism by commentators, a summary of which is also available.

Most of the changes are technical rather than substantive changes in policy, however. An exception, which will be very welcome to one provider in particular, reduces the time period within which notification must be issued to the member from least six months before the application of lifestyling, to at least four months.

(5) The Register of Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/597) were the subject of an "informal" (ie not published as a consultation document on the web) DWP consultation reported by Aries on 7 January 2005. The very few changes clarify the application of the Regs to multi-employer schemes and simplify the scope of the regs.

For the purposes of the scheme register, from 6 April 2006 it will no longer be necessary for the regs to distinguish (as the draft regs did) between death benefits-only (ie stand-alone group life) schemes and 'other' retirement benefit schemes. This is because to comply with the IORP Directive (2003/41/EC), section 239 of the Pensions Act 2004 excludes death benefits-only schemes from the definition of "occupational pension scheme", by amending section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993. Assuming this has been brought into force by 6.4.06 (in fact 23 September 2005 is the deadline under the Directive), death benefits-only schemes will not become registrable.

An expanded Schedule of revocations is appended.

Finally, a note of interest to readers anxiously awaiting the Indexation Regs. Aries reported publication of a consultation draft on 6 December 2004. Although we have seen nothing of them, the DWP remains confident that The Personal and Occupational Pension Schemes (Indexation and Disclosure of Information) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 will be laid shortly, in time for implementation on 6 April 2005.

Meanwhile, however, the DWP has published its response to the consultation. We anticipate examining this document (copies available from regs@ariespensions.co.uk) more closely when the Regs actually appear, but one point in particular is noteworthy.